Peshawbestown, Michigan, SEPTEMBER 2, 2016. The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB), by Tribal Resolution 16-34.2792, and a letter to President Obama, joins in the Standing Rock Sioux opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota requesting that President Obama override the Army Corps Engineers permit authorization for DAPL pipeline construction based on lack of compliance with federal environmental law. GTB’s central and independent rationale in supporting the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is GTB’s opposition to Enbridge Line 5 under the Straits of Mackinac.

“Both of these pipelines are scars across land and water that could injure not only treaty protected rights of Native Americans but also the land and water inheritance of all Americans. If we are to take these risks with our common resources, then at a minimum, both the federal government and the pipeline companies need to be held to the highest environmental and legal standard of review to ensure the safety of land and water for all Americans,” Tribal Chairman Sam McClellan said.